Phellipe Haagensen gives City of God a warmth that makes its brutality harder to bear. We rate him highly as Bené, though his later work offers less evidence for a broader verdict.
Fi1m perspective
In City of God (2002), Bené’s friendliness does not make Zé Pequeno any less frightening. Phellipe Haagensen gives us someone whose company we can imagine enjoying, while Leandro Firmino makes his partner dangerous without granting him the usual crime-film dignity. Haagensen leaves room for humour and tenderness without suggesting that either excuses what happens around him. We rate the performance highly because it makes Bené likeable without making the film less troubling.
The role brought him international recognition, and he followed it with Espeto in the related television series City of Men (2002–2004). Later film parts included Rogério in Sonhos de Peixe (2006) and Batú in Máncora (2008), with Plastic City (2008) among his other credits. His subsequent screen work has been sporadic. Bené dominates his reputation, with little critical discussion of those later performances to suggest a clear progression.
Fernando Meirelles’s fast, clear storytelling depends on an ensemble that can establish people amid all the activity. Alexandre Rodrigues gives Buscapé a human scale, while Haagensen’s warmth provides another reason to care about those caught up in the violence. We found that warmth painful because it made us believe Bené might have had an ordinary life. Our reservation about the film is that the cutting and music sometimes make its violence too exciting; Haagensen helps us remember that the people enduring it matter.
We would be cautious about treating this as proof of everything Haagensen can do. What it does establish is his value in a supporting part that needs to remain credible beside a more overtly frightening performance. He need not match Firmino’s menace to hold our attention, and the film benefits from that difference. See City of God for the ensemble, and give Haagensen as much attention as its more frightening faces.
Biography
Phellipe Haagensen is a Brazilian actor. He was born on 26 June 1984 in Rio de Janeiro.
He is best known for playing Bené in the 2002 film City of God. He is the younger brother of actor Jonathan Haagensen, who also appeared in the film. Haagensen has appeared in other productions including the television series City of Men (2002–2004) and the film Mancora (2008). He is a member of the band Guerreiros de Jorge.
